Partners In Crime
by Crazychicke
Summary: Based on 4x11. A Stebekah Detective story. Stefan and Rebekah used to date. Now, three years later, Stefan receives an anonymous call that leads to the death of a woman. He and Rebekah must work together to solve the murder and discover the truth. New pairings/friendships. AU/Humans.


**Disclaimer: TVD is not owned by me, but I have fun trying! A/N: AU/Humans. Inspired by 4x11. **

Partners in Crime

Stefan shuffled through the professor's files. They were at the Troy State University, in Covington, Georgia, investigating an anonymous tip. Rebekah was searching for hidden compartments in the professor's desk. The anonymous caller indicated the professor was a fraud, and was dangerous. Stefan examined the bookshelves, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He ran his finger beneath the LCD presentation screen, only to find it rather dusty. The professor sat watching the whole procedure, anxiously.

"Did you find anything yet?" Stefan asked his colleague.

"No, just a photograph of his wife. She's pretty." Rebekah continued with her search. "I'm hungry. We should stop for a bite at _Gallery in the Grove. _I'll pay." Their first date had been there thee years ago. They weren't together anymore. He politely declined. They had a job to do. It said so on the warrant. He went back to his task. The third officer cleared his throat. "I'll come Bekah. But I don't get paid 'til Thursday..."

"You never have any money, Matt!" She laughed. Something dislodged from where she had been fiddling. "What do we have here?" She held up a kitchen knife covered in blood. The professor leapt from his chair, denying it belonged to him. Donovan hauled him to his feet and read him his rights. The find was enough to bring him in for questioning. Rebekah dropped the knife into a forensic bag and told Donovan to wait for her in the car. She threw her latex gloves into the bin.

"Good work, Detective Mikaelson." Stefan told her. "I'll see you back at the station." He wanted to conduct some interviews to see what kind of relationships the professor had with his students. Perhaps one was a victim. Rebekah leaned against the desk, folding her arms.

"I'll let you know how the interview goes." She sighed, something still bothered her. "It was just coffee, Stefan. Not sex. Just coffee." He shifted uncomfortably on the spot. "Call me when you discover what's really going on?" He agreed. Rebekah left the room. Another woman waited in the hall. She had a bandaged right hand and fruity perfume on. She seemed anxious. Stefan moved to speak with her.

"Can I help you with something, miss?"

"I'm one of Professor Shane's students. Has something happened?"

"He's been arrested." She gasped and blushed when he glanced at her injured hand.

"I was chopping onions, the knife slipped. Will he be back tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry, I cannot say. If there's nothing else..." She looked frightened. "Are you alright?"

"I can't talk here. Will you meet me in the eastern dorms in an hour? I'm worried about my friend, April."

Stefan gave her his card. "Just in case you get into trouble, call me the first chance you get. What's your name?" Her behaviour was unnerving him.

"It's Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett. My room's number 47." She ran back down the stairs. Had she really cut herself on onions? Or was that her blood on the knife? He took out his notepad and pen and went down to the campus hub.

The hour passed quickly. Those he interviewed could only give him good reports. Professor Atticus Shane was a passionate lecturer, whose research was mesmerising. Everybody loved his class. He was easy to approach and he was funny. He sounded like the perfect guy, but he was hiding something. Why else had the anonymous caller reported him? Why had the professor lied about the knife, and what would his motives be? Did he have an affair with a student? What did April know?

Stefan tapped on door 47. It was unlocked. Cautiously, he pushed it open, pulling out his gun. He could hear the shower running. He called out her name, but there was no answer. He entered the bathroom and turned off the running water. There was nobody in the kitchen or lounge. He noticed the bandage from her hand on the floor near her bedroom. He tried her door. It was locked.

"Bonnie! It's me. I'm coming in." He kicked the door open. "No!" Stefan lowered his gun. She was lying on her bed with a bullet wound to the head. She had been frightened for a reason: her life had been in danger. Whoever had killed her had known she had been to see him. The case had changed from fraud to murder. Stefan kept his promise. He called Rebekah and reported the murder, then he waited for forensics to arrive.

Stefan paced the dorm, blaming himself for not intervening.

"I knew she was frightened. I should have taken her back to the station. I didn't think!" They had the professor in custody, which meant he didn't murder her. The knife had been planted. He was being framed. "She told me she was worried about her friend, April. We were going to discuss everything, but when I came by, I found her like this."

"You weren't to know," Rebekah murmured. She still had chocolate on her lips, and pastry crumbs on her shirt.

He asked her how her date with Matt went. "It wasn't a date. We're just friends." Stefan smiled, half-heartedly. Bonnie was still on his mind. The young woman had been killed to stop her from telling him something important. Something that might have been linked to her friend April, or to the professor.

"Did the professor talk?" Stefan asked, going over the evidence in his head.

"Not exactly. My brother's here."

Stefan gave her a sharp look. "Kol's here?!"

"I know, but apparently, he knows Shane and he wanted to conduct the interview himself. I left him there with Matt, so he can report everything back to me. Oh, and just letting you know he hasn't forgiven you for breaking my heart."

"That was a year ago and you seem to be coping fine."

"The commissioner thinks Kol's experience will help with the investigation." Rebekah told him.

Stefan groaned, "I look forward to it."

"He's just protective. I'm his little sister." She explained, fondly. Stefan fell silent.

The forensic team had been in there for an hour. His stomach grumbled, and he realised he could have done with that coffee, after all.

"So, what do you think she knew?" Stefan asked, taking a seat on the couch beside Rebekah.

"Hmm. You said she was asking questions about Shane? Maybe he sexually harassed her?"

"No. She was hiding something, but I don't think it was that. I do think her injury was too specific. If her DNA is on the knife, what were they doing? A blood sacrifice? And if it isn't her blood and she really did cut herself on onions, then whose blood is on the knife?"

The door opened suddenly. There was a squeal, and the dark-haired girl turned and ran. Stefan went after her. Why had she run? What was going on?

He caught her arm.

"He said it would happen! He said if I saw you, then it would be true! Bonnie's dead, isn't she?" Stefan's eyebrows knotted together. Who was 'he'? Could it have been the murderer? What did April know? There were other girls coming out of their dorms. Their eyes widened when they saw him. Some went back inside. Others congregated. Rebekah waited for them in the door frame.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. You're April, aren't you?" She nodded, hysterically. He comforted her, encouraging her to come speak with him, to tell him who had told her 'it would happen'. He told Rebekah to interview the other students, maybe one of them had seen the murderer enter without realising. "Would you like me to make you a tea?"

The girl shook her head. "I can't believe this. I've known Bonnie forever. We were at middle school together. Can I see her?"

Stefan shook his head. "Forensics are in there. Can you tell me who you were referring to, as 'he'?"

April put her head in her hands. "I don't know his name. I wish I did."

"Had you spoken to him before?" April nodded. "How did you meet?"

She took a deep breath. "We were in the Professor's lecture last week. He said he knew about Bonnie, and if I didn't warn her to stay away, then he would make an example of her. I tried, but she wouldn't listen."

Stefan waited for her to stop crying before he continued. "Did Bonnie cut herself cooking?"

April shook her head. "No. _He _cut her hand." Stefan tried to understand her confession by repeating her question. "She was seeing Professor Shane."

"For how long?" He asked.

"Three months." She whispered.

The forensic doctor indicated he return to the room. Stefan told April to stay there, he'd have more questions upon his return. He wondered whether Rebekah had discovered anything new.

"What's wrong?" He asked the doctor.

The woman tucked her hair behind her ear. "Final evaluation is complete. She died instantly. The bullet was a 9mm pistol with a silencer."

"A Beretta M9." Stefan nodded.

"It looks like from her placement on the bed, she was facing the doorway, but the killer entered from the balcony." Stefan raised his eyebrows. "See the blood here. This is where she died. The murderer moved her. The question is why? I thought with your experience you'd be able to tell me." She smiled, packing away her kit.

"Miss Gilbert, after five years, I still do not understand how a murderer's brain works."

"How's Rebekah by the way?" She asked, airily.

"She's questioning suspects." He stated. Elena's eyes twinkled. "Nothing's happened! We're keeping everything strictly professional."

"I'm sure!" Elena smirked.

Elena's team assembled Bonnie onto the gurney and escorted her out of the dorms and to the morgue. April had a minute to say goodbye, before she started crying again, and after Stefan had exhausted her with questions, he told her she should probably try and find somewhere else to stay. He stationed one of the officers in the apartment until the investigation had closed. Rebekah reported back without any leads and they searched the dorm extensively for clues. Things were irking Stefan: why the bandage was left on the floor?Why Bonnie had been shot and then moved? Who attacked and threatened the girls? And who had started this whole business by reporting the professor? Stefan had enough on his mind to warrant a holiday, but this was his case, and he would get to the bottom of it.

"What did Gilbert say?" Stefan ignored Elena's insinuations about his feelings towards Rebekah. He focussed on the case. He filled Rebekah in on his findings and ran his hands though his hair in frustration. Rebekah seemed just as lost.

"There's got to be something we're missing. What is it?"

The door bangs against the wall. "Well, I'd say, the thing that's missing is your brain, Salvatore." Kol had walked into the room. "Shane's admitted to seeing Bonnie, although there was no physical affection. It was only an emotional connection. Apparently, they only talked." Kol kissed Rebekah swiftly on the cheek, then proceeded to degrade Stefan in any way he could. "So darling, what do we know? And I hope it's something, because last time Stefan worked on something it was a disaster." Stefan bit back his retort. Rebekah explained the case, while Stefan's opinions were ignored. Kol had never liked him, not then, and not five years ago. Rebekah sent him an apologetic look, and as they strategized, Stefan was left to wonder what exactly they were dealing with.

**A/N: I like the idea of Stebekah as Detectives and wanted to see where it led to. No idea how long this will be. Just writing it for fun. Please review! **


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